Working from home: A silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Thanks to COVID-19, the landscape of work has forever changed. Unfortunately, employers had to make a quick decision regarding how to keep their employees working throughout the pandemic. What was once thought impossible for many employers became a reality and it changed how we view the traditional sense of the working environment. We used to think that to go to work, one had to go to a physical location with bricks and mortar. For most of us, the pandemic meant we were working from home. One thing the pandemic has taught us is that the definition of “work” must change. The landscape of work was already slowly starting to change. For some employers, this meant an immediate transition to working from home. Once what was thought unimaginable was now suddenly the norm for most employers and employees. For employers with an injured worker, the pandemic gave support to what employers have long been lobbying for, which was that an injured worker could work from home.
In the past, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) was less than enthused about employers offering their injured employee a “work from home” option. The WCB thought that this was a cover up for employers to skirt their obligation of return to work. The way of thinking in the past was that a worker working from home could not possibly do meaningful work from home; well, the pandemic has shown us otherwise!
The WCB Act, 2013 states, “An employer must have a return to work program.” Returning an employee back to work can sometimes be challenging, especially for smaller employers. For many employers, having an injured employee work from home was a great option, especially if the injured worker’s restrictions excluded them from many jobs in the workplace. Quite often, working from home allows employees more flexibility to take frequent rest breaks but still allows them to be engaged in the workplace and make a valuable contribution to their employer. I think WCB needs to change their definition of what return to work should look like and recognize that working from home is a great option. The pandemic has taught us that working from home is a real option, as many of us had to work from home since March of last year. WBC itself had its employees working from home.
Having an injured worker working from home may not work for all employers, but it is another option for employers. The possibilities are endless when having someone working from home. There is a lot of choice out there for online safety modules and classes on various topics. The safety associations in Saskatchewan are also a good choice for options for training in person and online. Employees can upgrade their safety qualifications online, and there are many options for this, as well. MSDS sheets are available online for updates.
Zoom, Webex and Microsoft Teams make it possible to attend work meetings via video and connect with the workplace. Technology is a fabulous way to help workers stay connected to the workplace. It is so important to keep employees engaged as it helps with the transition back into the workplace. Studies have shown the longer an employee is away from the workplace, the less likely they are to return. It is so important to have flexible work options to help lessen the burden of work injuries while enabling employees to remain connected to the workplace. COVID-19 has taught us that working from home is possible and it may have forever changed the landscape of the work environment.